Efficient wound healing is a complex physiological process which involves many mechanisms including cell migration, growth factor secretion, angiogenesis, tissue remodelling and the intrinsic proteinase/antiproteinase balance of the wound contributing in concert and in an apparently staged manner to accelerate controlled tissue regeneration.
Wound care products are essential in modern medical practice, especially for the treatment of patients with chronic wounds or burns. Many different substances have previously been proposed as having activities which contribute to the healing of wounds. These previously proposed substances include streptokinase, collagenase and streptodomase (all obtained from bacterial sources), bromelain (from pineapples), plasmin and trypsin (obtained from cattle) and krill enzymes (obtained from crustacea). Clinical trial data indicate that such substances are only partially effective in promoting the healing of wounds.
The larvae (maggots) of the green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, are known to have significant wound healing attributes as live organisms. Debridement treatment using the larvae of Lucilia sericata, has become a widely accepted clinical practice. However, little has been reported in the literature about the way in which these larvae go about their task of cleaning wounds to an extent that conventionally untreatable wounds heal.
Although efficacious, live larvae are unpleasant to many patients and the use of live larvae on wounds and the introduction of their crude secretions into wounds, which inevitably occurs when the larvae are used, are unacceptable to many patients and to many medical practitioners. The use of live organisms also increases the risk of infection or allergic reactions in the patient.
It is an object of the invention to overcome at least some of the above problems.